Free UT Professional Land Surveyor Law and Rule Examination Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the UT Professional Land Surveyor Law and Rule Examination practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1Under Utah law, when is a professional land surveying license generally required?

   1. A. Whenever surveying state-owned land, even if a statutory exemption otherwise applies
   2. B. Whenever engaging in professional land surveying, unless a statutory exemption applies
   3. C. Whenever a completed survey will be filed in a county public office
   4. D. Whenever the client is a public entity rather than a private owner

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Utah Code §58-22-301(1) says, "A license is required to engage in the practice of ... professional land surveying, except as specifically provided" by the cited exemptions; the recording status or client type does not create the general rule.

   Reference: Utah Code Title 58 — §58-22-301(1)

2. 2When does the BLM Manual direct a surveyor to restore a lost corner by proportionate measurement?

   1. A. Immediately after failing to find the monument once
   2. B. After every means of identifying the original corner position has been exhausted
   3. C. Whenever calculated acreage differs from nominal acreage
   4. D. Only after adjoining owners agree

   Answer: B

   Explanation: BLM Manual §7-1 requires exhausting "every means" of identifying the original corner position before restoring it by proportionate measurement.

   Reference: Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009 — §7-1, p. 165

3. 3Who must perform county-surveyor duties in a Utah county when the office is consolidated with another elected office?

   1. A. Any elected officer
   2. B. A licensed professional land surveyor
   3. C. A county engineer regardless of license
   4. D. The county clerk personally

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Utah Code §17-73-201(1)(b) says that in a consolidated office "all duties of the county surveyor shall be performed by a licensed professional land surveyor."

   Reference: Utah Code Title 17 — §17-73-201(1)(b)

4. 4Which activity is expressly within Utah's statutory definition of professional land surveying?

   1. A. Preparing every building's structural calculations
   2. B. Issuing title insurance commitments
   3. C. Monumenting or locating property boundaries or controlling points
   4. D. Appraising the market value of real estate

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Section 58-22-102(11) includes work "for the monumenting or locating of property boundaries or points controlling boundaries" in professional land surveying.

   Reference: Utah Code Title 58 — §58-22-102(11)

5. 5Under the 2009 BLM Manual, when is a corner classified as lost?

   1. A. When the monument is not visible but accessories recover the original position
   2. B. When substantial evidence cannot determine the original position and restoration depends on interdependent corners
   3. C. When reliable testimony recovers the position but no physical trace remains
   4. D. When an original record and identifiable witness point recover the position

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Manual §7-2 makes the absence of "substantial evidence" the key condition; restoration then depends on one or more interdependent corners.

   Reference: Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009 — §7-2, p. 165

6. 6What survey information must a Utah county surveyor permanently keep at county government offices?

   1. A. Only invoices for private surveys
   2. B. Accurate records of surveys, including legal descriptions and geographic coordinates
   3. C. Only maps created after 2026
   4. D. Only subdivision approval minutes

   Answer: B

   Explanation: Section 17-73-201(3)(a)(iii) requires "a fair and accurate record of all surveys made, including legal descriptions and geographic coordinates" and specified received filings.

   Reference: Utah Code Title 17 — §17-73-201(3)(a)(iii)

7. 7For a Utah surveying organization, who is a statutory "principal"?

   1. A. A majority owner who controls business finances but holds no professional license
   2. B. The longest-serving employee who manages personnel but not professional surveying decisions
   3. C. A licensed professional having responsible charge of the organization's surveying practice
   4. D. The records custodian who maintains field books but does not approve surveys

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Section 58-22-102(7) defines a principal as a licensed professional land surveyor or listed engineer "having responsible charge of an organization's" professional practice.

   Reference: Utah Code Title 58 — §58-22-102(7)

8. 8Substantial evidence establishes an original corner position even though the original monument is gone. How should the position be treated?

   1. A. As an existent or obliterated corner whose recovered position is used
   2. B. As a lost corner restored by double proportionate measurement
   3. C. As a lost corner restored by single proportionate measurement
   4. D. As a three-point-control corner restored from one missing line

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Manual §7-2 states that when "substantial evidence" of the original position exists, it is an existent or obliterated corner and that position is preferred to a lost-corner rule.

   Reference: Manual of Surveying Instructions 2009 — §7-2, p. 165

9. 9Which authority governs Utah county surveys of legal subdivisions of sections?

   1. A. The United States Manual of Surveying Instructions in effect when the survey is completed
   2. B. Only the oldest available federal manual
   3. C. A county tax map, regardless of evidence
   4. D. The client's preferred manual

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Section 17-73-201(3)(a)(vi) requires those surveys to be made according to the U.S. Manual of Surveying Instructions "in effect at the time the survey is completed."

   Reference: Utah Code Title 17 — §17-73-201(3)(a)(vi)

10. 10What does "supervision" require from a Utah professional land surveyor?

    1. A. Assigning the work and relying on the employee's final quality-control decision
    2. B. Personal review, correction when necessary, approval, and responsibility
    3. C. Visiting the site weekly while leaving technical approval to the field chief
    4. D. Delegating review and final approval to an experienced unlicensed drafter

    Answer: B

    Explanation: Section 58-22-102(16) requires that the licensee "personally reviews, corrects when necessary, and approves" the directed work and is responsible for it.

    Reference: Utah Code Title 58 — §58-22-102(16)